In basic terms, Bluehost and GoDaddy are the two providers which help you build a website, host it and provide services from the first step till the end; they take care of security, loading time, 24 * 7 support and many other factors if you face any issue in this aspect. Bluehost hosted over 2 million domains in 2010 and has been in the game since 2003. As of 2024, GoDaddy has over 21 million customers.

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Both providers focus on small businesses and aim to simplify the owners' setup. On the surface level, only the providers' pricing varies, but there are other differences when we dig deeper. Bluehost scores are pretty good in many aspects, but GoDaddy also gives you an all-in-one solution kind of platform. It depends on the kind of website you are building, what features you are willing to avail at what cost, and how much manual effort you are ready to put in.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Which is a Better Provider?

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Bluehost and GoDaddy are the top two providers in the hosting world, and they are on a neck-to-neck level. When choosing the best option, the comparison has to be made based on factors like uptime, security, performance, features, ease of use, pricing and value for money, downtime, live chat or WhatsApp support. The individual breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses will help you decide better per your needs. No matter which one you choose, you will opt for the best compared to any other provider in the market.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Quick Comparison

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A quick comparison is given below in the table format to run a quick read, and a detailed comparison will be followed.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Features, Performance, & Ease of Use

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If we compare features wise then, of course both providers are no less than the best. For a reason, they are the leading providers in the market, so they can’t afford to lack in that aspect. Some minute differences can be seen between the providers- Bluehost and GoDaddy- and they are marginal, not huge. It can be represented in the form of a table as given below:

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Both providers try to keep their services running as much as possible but know they can't always make it perfect. Bluehost gives 99.98% and for GoDaddy it is 99.97%, less than three days of downtime in a year. GoDaddy can also give you 5% of your hosting fee for that month if the downtime is more than 4 times a month for that time, which Bluehost does not. 

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Both use cPanel control panel, the industry standard for managing hosting. Both the providers have very clean interfaces, yet Bluehost has a little edge over GoDaddy. Bluehost provides only 100GB of disk space, whereas GoDaddy has unlimited space. Although small businesses hardly reach the limit, the space Bluehost offers seems to be enough. 

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Bluehost takes the upper hand on GoDaddy when providing free backups, which is important if you lose anything on your site. Both providers are equally reliable regarding performance, but GoDaddy can handle more traffic with simultaneous loading sites and delivers faster page loading times. Fynd Platform does all the work for you when creating a website without worrying or coding. A website builder will create one for you and handle the hosting part. It lets you keep your hands free and asks for no manual work to be put in.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Pricing & Value for Money

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Pricing is the most crucial aspect of any provider; hence, the customers want it to be worth it. Comparatively, Bluehost and GoDaddy are both very safe and reliable hosting options. But if we see closely, then obviously, the pricing of Bluehost is a better value for money than GoDaddy. 

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You can see below the differences in pricing and the various range of prices according to different plans and functions.

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The prices are always shown as discounted since it is a very old trick used by platforms for their customers. Also, there are certain charges that you are supposed to pay on the top monthly basic rate as add-ons. You can get a website all for yourself in just a few dollars a month, no matter your choice. When you see the whole picture, it does appear that Bluehost provides a better price than GoDaddy. 

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The best part is both providers have this policy of a 30-day money-back guarantee, and the customers can use it to check them out well. Bluehost is more functional and provides better security for a much better price in the long run. It is a great option to start a website, whether a small business or a portfolio website.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Domain Name Registration

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The 12-month contract with Bluehost and GoDaddy includes domain name registration. Although, after the first year, you must pay the domain renewal fees available on the Bluehost website not publicly mentioned on the GoDaddy website. An alternative approach would be registering the domain name elsewhere at a lower price and linking it to your hosting account. 

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Surely, these are some extra steps you need to take, but it helps you save some funds, and for the link-up process, both providers offer you support in case of any difficulty. Both providers include a one-year domain registration in 12-month-and-higher contracts, so they are both at the same level, not better or worse.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Caching and Optimization

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You must go for a provider that gives the ultimate site speed and performance regarding loading time because it matters the most to the users. Bluehost has in-house caching technology that allows you to choose from three levels of caching and disable it, too, if you want. The caching plugin you choose can be installed, including free options like WP Super Cache or the premium WP Rocket plugin. GoDaddy has no caching tool for WordPress websites on their shared hosting plans. However, you can install a plugin with W3 Total Cache, just like Bluehost; GoDaddy recommends it.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Content Delivery Network

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When you want your website files to be automatically distributed worldwide, then Content Delivery Network (CDN) takes care of it. This helps load the site quickly, no matter where the user is. Bluehost gives you a fast and smooth way by some clicks to connect your website to a free CloudFare account. 

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Here, you can leverage their CDN technology to speed up your site for any user visiting from outside the region where it is hosted. GoDaddy instead lets you purchase their security package so that the extra features get added to the hosting plan, like CDN, site monitoring and infection cleaning. It does not offer a quick way to connect your site to a free CDN service like Bluehost.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Website security

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Security is an aspect which cannot be compromised, and both providers can step up on the same. However, Bluehost is the better choice since it includes Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) with all the plans, whereas GoDaddy includes SSL only with high-end plans. GoDaddy covers the basic features below:

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Buying a package that includes SSL, web application firewall, and malware removal would also cost about ₹349/mo. On the other hand, Bluehost covers the following security features:

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These are the basic services offered by all the providers. For extra services, you need to purchase them separately. Also, daily backups and malware removal cost another 129/month.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: WordPress Integration

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When comparing the hosting providers, giving WordPress its section is crucial. One-third of the internet is built on WordPress, and if you host your website yourself, you will probably be among those ranks as well. WordPress says Bluehost is the best platform for WordPress integration; they must take their word on this since they recommend Bluehost as the “best and brightest of the hosting world.”

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Even though GoDaddy makes getting your WordPress site off the ground easier through its ready-to-use customisable themes, Bluehost bags it up in WordPress hosting. Not just that, but Bluehost also extends its WordPress expertise to WooCommerce features too. For an online store, Bluehost's WooCommerce plans come with one-click integrations for the processing tools of payments, and they also provide a very compatible online store for you which is already set up. You can also enable automatic updates for the WordPress software and any themes and plugins you have installed already.

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It allows automatic emptying of the content trash, closing comments on old blog posts and reducing the number of post revisions too. All these help to run your site smoother than ever. The installation process is just as smooth as other services- a one-click process. If you have made up your mind about the hosting plan, then it is just a matter of a few minutes to set up your functioning website. Bluehost’s main service is WordPress, and they understand their strength so that the service quality will remain top-notch. Bluehost has a WordPress-centric dashboard that allows you to manage your site smoothly. Both hosts provide a free SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate that encrypts the data being transferred with 256-bit encryption of your website.

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Bluehost’s integration also has an excellent tool- SiteLock, that monitors and detects any suspicious activity and prevents your site from landing on any search engine’s blocklists. GoDaddy has a pretty good WordPress game, but they are nowhere near Bluehost. Upgrade to their more expensive WordPress hosting plan to access the WordPress updater tool. Although, the cPanel installer gives you the option of enabling auto-updates. But if you are looking for the better one, then Bluehost is your go-to option.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Switching Process

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When you wish to switch from one provider to another and the other happens to be one of the two- Bluehost or GoDaddy then the process isn’t much complicated with these two. You would want to make sure that it does not become a mess or have a risk of losing any of your files. Although, one is better than the other regarding website migration.

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Bluehost offers a commendable switching service since it does all the work for you without any hassle. It charges a one-time fee of $149.99 and can migrate up to five websites and 20 mail accounts. You are not expected to have any migration knowledge since they offer professional service and full migration of all the databases and files from your old hosting account. 

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On the contrary, GoDaddy makes you do a little bit of work. Of course, it does not charge a fee, but it does not offer a completely hands-off migration process. You need to download your website files from your old hosting provider and then upload them manually to GoDaddy for the Non-WordPress websites. Rather WordPress websites are still easier to tackle as you just have to choose the hosting plan and mention the site you want to transfer in the “My Products” section of an existing GoDaddy account. As mentioned earlier, Bluehost is the clear winner for hassle-free work, but GoDaddy is doable if you are unwilling to pay for it and take the load.

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Bluehost vs. GoDaddy: Support

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The most basic features any customer looks for in support are live chat, 24/7 support, and knowledge centres, and both the providers, Bluehost and GoDaddy, are great with them. You do not always need support, but there are crucial times when things go wrong, and the techies must rescue you for better functioning. Both providers have international telephone support activated, so you can contact them no matter where you are located. GoDaddy allows you to get their help staff through WhatsApp, which Bluehost does not.

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You might have to wait to contact an agent, but the query gets solved quickly once done. On the contrary, the wait time in live chat is longer on GoDaddy than on Bluehost. Bluehost takes a tiny edge over GoDaddy because its knowledge centre is more thorough. GoDaddy is good, too and even if you don’t find the solution there, going online is preferable. Someone somewhere must have faced the same issue as you and solved it. 

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The service of providing support tickets draws the line between the two providers. Bluehost provides support tickets, and GoDaddy does not. Usually, personalised attention is good to have and solves the problem significantly. GoDaddy has a help centre with a significant collection of articles, how-to guides, videos and FAQs to solve your queries. It has a community forum as an additional place to look for answers. The discussions of web hosting topics are not much fired up, but the questions get answered as the support members help moderate the space. Bluehost has a huge knowledge base with an intuitive search button that helps you find relevant information quickly. 

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Bluehost also has a paid additional support service for extra help called BlueSky. It is similar to a WordPress maintenance service. It helps you with your website in many ways, but it is not a very cheap add-on. Overall, it is impossible to pick up the best from the other here regarding support; they both do well on their own, providing different facilities to solve your query.

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Hosting Technical Details Overview: Bluehost v/s. GoDaddy

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• PHP: Both hosts choose a range of PHP versions from 7.0 to 7.4 through a web interface. GoDaddy lets you choose 5.6 as well.

• With GoDaddy, applying for a free SSL certificate is complicated, or you can purchase directly from them. Bluehost makes it very smooth if you apply for it or import their certificate, or you can even purchase a different certificate through them.

• SFTP: No comparison; both hosts allow you to access your webspace via secure FTP to upload and edit files without hassle.

• Server File Manager: The server space can be accessed through a cPanel browser-based file manager via both the providers- Bluehost and GoDaddy.

• Email service: GoDaddy and Bluehost provide email service in their shared hosting plans along with webmail, POP3 and SMTP.

• Database access: You can access the WordPress database via phpMyAdmin through a browser with both the hosts, GoDaddy and Bluehost.

• Plugin restrictions: In this aspect, both hosts do not give you any restrictions or disallowed plugins.

• Security measures: Bluehost has SiteLock, and GoDaddy has Web Security, which is paid add-on which includes automatic malware removal, daily malware scans and more security features. Both the hosts have their standards and monitor for attacks.

• Post-hack clean-up services: You need to pay separately for the services. Bluehost’s SiteLock add-on can help with that. GoDaddy has a security subscription paid add-on and, on the side, a paid Express Malware Removal service.

• Data Center locations: GoDaddy has servers in North America, Asia and Europe, whereas Bluehost has one data centre in Utah, western USA.

• Staging sites: Bluehost shared hosting plans include access to a WordPress staging tool, whereas GoDaddy plans have no such service included.

• WordPress website migration: Bluehost lets you migrate one WordPress website without charge, whereas GoDaddy charges you ₹499. You can opt for a free migration plugin with GoDaddy, though.

• Uptime checks and guarantees: Both providers do not monitor the individual customer websites, but they do for their servers for downtime. GoDaddy gives an uptime of 99.9% and provides a hosting discount in case of downtime, but conditions apply. Bluehost does not give an uptime guarantee like other web hosts. 

• Support channels: Both providers offer 24*7 support with features like live chat and telephone on their shared hosting plans.

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Load Time Testing: Bluehost vs. GoDaddy

Both the platforms, GoDaddy and Bluehost, gave a similar result when tested for loading time using a lightweight theme. The difference was noticeable when they were tested for using a heavyweight theme. If your motive is to build a much more complex site that uses multi-purpose, then it would be a better option to go for GoDaddy. Surely, you will have to pay a bit extra, but your site achieves a much faster loading time. 

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When tested for over six months with Pingdom to monitor the speed, the results were as follows: Bluehost averaged a website response time of 773 ms, whereas GoDaddy performed slightly better, giving an average response time of 531 ms. GoDaddy also requests 5% of your monthly hosting fee credit for that month if the downtime is more than 4 minutes in a month. Even though you will not be getting a loading time under 2 seconds, you must upgrade to the higher performance plans from GoDaddy and Bluehost or consider managed WordPress hosting.

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Load Handling Testing: Bluehost vs. GoDaddy

For a lightweight theme and multiple simultaneous visitors, Bluehost performs better. But for a heavyweight theme, you must upgrade to a higher performance plan from Bluehost or GoDaddy. Both struggled, but Bluehost performed better in the K6 load-handling test than GoDaddy.

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Bluehost v/s. GoDaddy Hosting: Conclusion

Bluehost and GoDaddy both the providers have been around for a long time in the internet era, and they know their game. We looked at many aspects in greater detail above. Even though Bluehost is the better provider in most of them, the differences are marginal and do not make GoDaddy a weaker option. After comparing, you must choose the one based on your requirements and priorities. 

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Bluehost is good for anyone willing to create a business website, blog or E-commerce website. It is the best bet for creating a WordPress site, too, but you must be careful about the renewal prices that go high soon. GoDaddy is better for high-traffic Joomla sites and advanced E-commerce sites like Magento. If speed is your preference, then GoDaddy is the right option. Even its uptime guarantee makes it a reliable choice for web hosting. Here’s a quick recap of the most important aspects we looked at in detail and the winner that comes in each one of them-

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